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Together NC: House budget puts state 'on path to mediocrity'

Together NC Statement on House Budget Proposal

RALEIGH (May 29, 2012) -- We believe North Carolina is at its best and most competitive when we have a strong public education system that is accessible and affordable to all, an early childhood care and education system that is copied around the nation, community colleges that train and retrain workers in an evolving economy, public universities that are engines of innovation, and a robust infrastructure that paves the way for businesses and provides a strong quality of life for all to enjoy.

Our state budget should be a pathway to achieve this vision for a strong and vibrant North Carolina. Unfortunately, the proposed House budget passed by the Appropriations Committee today sets our state on a path towards mediocrity.

While the budget proposal increases spending over the continuation budget passed in 2011, the so-called expansion items in areas such as K-12 education, Medicaid, and early education, for example, don’t come close to fully restoring cuts passed in last year’s budget. Moreover, the patchwork increases are largely paid for with non-recurring dollars. If we want to build for a visionary future, quick fixes today won’t cut it.

Most disappointing is that the budget proposal doesn’t have to look the way it does. Lawmakers could choose to raise revenue to adequately restore deep budget cuts and put North Carolina back on a forward-looking path.

But instead, House leaders chose to repaint the house a different color while the foundation crumbles.

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Together NC is a collection of more than 120 non-profit organizations, service providers, and professional associations who have come together to promote wise choices for shared prosperity for all North Carolinians. For more information, visit www.togethernc.org